


Whiskey & Moonshine

by hexedmaiden



Series: Whiskey & Moonshine [1]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kingsman Fusion, Cobb Vanth Centric, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29583696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexedmaiden/pseuds/hexedmaiden
Summary: Cobb Vanth was on his way to the Major Leagues until an injury prevented him. Only to get recruited by The Statesman, and develop a crush on the mysterious Whiskey.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Series: Whiskey & Moonshine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173470
Comments: 44
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bronzeinferno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronzeinferno/gifts).



He lies on the hospital bed staring up at the ceiling tiles. Hot tears sprang to his eyes. One eye swollen shut while a bruise forms on his jaw. His career is over before it even started. The surgery went well, the doctor said. He’ll regain function in his arm, not to worry, but dreams of going pro in the major leagues are off the table. Outside his room, he can hear the sounds of other patients coughing and moaning in pain.

Rage builds inside of him as his arm throbs in agony. He presses the button on his IV drip to administer more morphine. The cold feeling of the drug in his veins washes through him. He rolls onto his good shoulder, mindful of the tubes and wires that are connected to him. He faces the taupe-colored walls of his hospital room. He lets his other eye close. He exhales a shaky breath as his body relaxes.

He does not sleep soundly. He wakes periodically through the night with nurses coming into the room and sounds of machines beeping through the night. At some point, he wakes from pain and gives himself another dose of morphine to fall asleep again. He doesn’t know how long he’s slept when the sound of the hospital room curtains moving.

Opens his good eye against the sun, he tries to pull the paper-thin sheet and blanket over his head.

“Up and at ‘em, sunshine!” A deep voice says followed by a loud piercing screech of them pulling one of the visitor chairs up next to his bed. He rolls over to look at the offending visitor.

“Who are you?” he croaks, his mouth dry. The much older-looking man in a suit pours a cup of ice water from the water pitcher that sits on a rolling tray. The man hands it to him and he takes a small sip.

“My name is Champagne, but you can call me Champ. I heard about what happened the other night. I think we could use someone like you, Mr. Vanth. I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come work with me as a Statesman.” The man, Champ, takes a sip from a flask that he pulls from the inside of his jacket. Cobb looks at him in disbelief.

“What’s the job? What’s in it for me?” Cobb takes another swig of water, he swishes the water around in his mouth before swallowing.

“We’ll cover your hospital bills and of course the funeral costs for some of the men and damages to their families if they had any. You also get a very nice salary, much more than you’d get in the MLB. You’ll get to travel the globe, kiss a few pretty people and save the world. What do you say?”

“I say it sounds too good to be true.” Cobb arches his eyebrow or tries to at least, at Champ from over the rim of his cup. “But I got nothin goin on. So sure, why not.”


	2. Chapter 2

With hospital discharge papers in one hand and his arm in a sling, Cobb now stood out front of the Statesman Distillery. A giant whiskey bottle-shaped building stands front and center with two large buildings on each side of it. He makes his way toward the building, punching in a code at the door. It slides open for him to step inside.

A woman with short brown hair only a few shades darker than her skin and glasses greets him on the other side.

“Mr. Vanth, it's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the Statesman, I’m Ginger Ale. But you can just call me Ginger.” Ginger sticks a hand out for a shake. Once she notices his arm in a sling and drops her hand awkwardly. “Sorry, um let's go get you set up. Come on.”

“In that case, call me Cobb, Mr. Vanth is my father.” Cobb jokes to hopefully ease the awkwardness. It gets a small smile out of Ginger as they walk down a corridor. She leads them to an elevator. Cobb watches as she presses the button for Level 1 as the door closes.

“This level houses our sickbay and medical facility. Should you or any other agent get injured or even the flu this is where you’ll go.” She shows him around the floor. It reminds him of the hospital ward. A wall divides each of the beds, with curtains at the entrance for privacy.

He recognizes some of the traditional machines from his stay at the hospital. An IV pole, heart, and blood pressure monitor. But some of them are unrecognizable. One machine looks a lot like a tanning bed with clear panels set into the lid. Another looks like a dental chair with a head cage attached. Must be something like a small MRI machine, Cobb reckons.

“I know you just got out of surgery for your shoulder. But we have a way to speed up that healing process if you’d be up for it?” Ginger jabs a thumb over her shoulder.

“Ginger, you’re an angel. Anything to get out of this, damn arm sling the better.” Cobb can almost cry. He practically skips over to one of the beds to sit on the edge.

“I’m gonna need you to take the sling and your shirt off. Let me know if you need help.”

“Yes ma’am.” He nodded politely. Ginger left the cubical, he can hear the sound of metal on metal. Drawers opening and close as she roots around.

Cobb pulls on the velcro strap on the front of the arm sling. The straps fall away and he slides the sling off his arm. The shirt was luckily a button-up. It wasn’t too difficult to get undone one-handed, but it was a pain to do up. He slowly pulled the fabric from his body, careful not to jar his shoulder. His shoulder was still bandaged up from the hospital.

Ginger returns with something in her now gloved hands that she sets onto a metal tray next to the bed. She removed his bandages carefully. The shoulder was swollen and shiny with ointment. Parts of it bruised purple from healing. Incision tape crisscrosses over the places they cut into him to repair the damage.

She tosses them into the bio-hazard waste bin. She tosses the gloves she wore and puts on another pair. She swipes up something from the tray and turns to him.

“Now I ain’t afraid of needles Ginger, but that right there looks like a fucking sword.” Cobb furrows his brows pointing at the object in her hand.

“You men are such babies. Look you won’t even feel a thing.” She jabs the needle into his shoulder as she talks making him yelp. He bites his lip as he feels it move. As quickly as she sticks him she removes it. She takes the gaze and places it over the spot and tapes it down.

“It takes about an hour to feel the full effects. You won’t be one hundred percent good as new, some physical therapy can help with that. But it helps you, field agents, back on the job a lot faster than waiting six to twelve months for an injury to heal.”

“Good to know.” He winces as he puts his shirt back on. Ginger waits patiently as he does up the buttons and slides the arm sling back onto his arm.

“Let’s get you to Champ, he’s in the dining hall. He’ll go over all the big stuff with you.”

“Lead the way.” Cobb gets up from the bed ready to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

The two return to the elevator. Ginger presses the top button with the Statesman Distillery “S” logo embossed on it in gold. Cobb’s stomach drops as the elevator car rockets them upwards. He sways on his feet for a split second and then the elevator pings. 

They walk out and into a foyer, the walls are covered in bottle racks and shelves of liquor. A wall of mostly windows that look over the grounds of the distillery. A large table that seats twelve people is in the center of the room. Paintings of past owners adorn the red walls. A roaring fire was going in a fireplace below a screen mounted on a wall. 

Cobb’s eyes finally notice Champagne sitting at the head of the table. The man stands up from the table taking a sip from a glass.

“Ginger, thank you for getting this one taken care of. I’ll take it from here.” Champ rounds to the table to make his way to them. Ginger smiles, waves goodbye to the two of them. Champ walks Cobb over to the large table, pulling a chair out for him to sit down before Champ returns to his seat.

“How’s the shoulder?” The man asks as he pours Cobb a drink, sliding the glass toward him. Cobb catches it quickly before it can slide off the table. Champ chuckles, impressed with Cobb’s reflexes. 

“Better than yesterday.” 

“Good to hear. Let’s get down to business, huh?” Champ gives him a quick smile. 

Cobb takes a sip of his drink as he sits up a little straighter. His arm gives a dull throb of pain. 

“From now on you’ll be referred to by the codename Moonshine. Agent Tequila has offered to help with your training tomorrow. Once you get the all-clear from training you’ll be ready for assignments. And one more thing.” Champ presses a switch on the table and a panel in front of Cobb opens. Inside a pair of aviators lay on silk. Cobb reaches in for them.

“These aren’t just ordinary sunglasses. They act as a link between you and Ginger, our tech expert, she’ll be able to send you information as well as see what you’re seeing in the field.” Champ explains as Cobb, Moonshine now, looks over the glasses. He puts them on single-handed, at first they appear to be ordinary aviators. The lens flickers and a small pops into view in the top corner. 

He watches in fascination as the glasses scan and displays information in real-time about objects around the room. Even when he turns to look at Champ the display reads:

**CHAMPAGNE (CHAMP)**

**AGE: 71**

**GENDER: MALE**

**PRONOUNS: HE/HIM**

**LEADER OF STATESMAN**

Cobb lifts the glasses from his eyes to sit them on top of his head. 

"Holy shit, I'm a goddamn spy."

"Not yet, but you will be, son. I've got a good feeling about you. Now go get yourself some rest. Big day tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

They had given him an entirely new life within twenty-four hours. He was a spy (in-training), he had a new apartment that was big enough to fit his old one inside of five times over and a new name.  _ Moonshine _ . Not to mention whatever that shit was Ginger gave him fuckin worked. The bruises had turned yellow and he had full motion in his arm again. He’ll have to remember to send her flowers or get her coffee.

Now, he was taking his morning shower before breakfast, then it was off to the training grounds. More like training  _ under _ grounds. 

He took the main elevator down to the basement level. He followed the signs that lead to a gym. Through the windows, he could see a rock climbing wall that looked like it went on forever. A running track that was suspended from the rafters, some basic gym workout equipment, and gymnastic beams and horizontal bars that one could swing from. 

Walking into the gym he notices a boxing ring in the corner. Inside the ring stands a man about Moonshine’s height, wide shoulders, muscular. His dark hair buzzed short, dark sweatpants and a grey shirt with the sleeve cut off. 

“You must be Moonshine, name’s Tequila.” The man, Tequila, says as he holds up the rope for Moonshine to enter the ring. Moonshine gives him a thank you as he climbs up, ducking under the ropes to join Tequila. 

“Here take this and wrap your hands.” The younger man tosses him some rolls of cloth wrap.

He catches it and unravels the cloth. He finds the loop to slide over his thumb, he starts to wrap the cloth around his wrist first before he moves it over his palm and knuckles. He winds the cloth through his fingers and his thumb before securing the velcro at the end. He repeats this on his other hand. He flexes his hands testing the feeling.

“Ready?” Tequila asks. Moonshine rolls his shoulders.

“Let’s go.” He brings his fists up and ready.

⎯

He doesn’t know how many hours have ticked by but he knows that he’s getting tired. His shoulder is starting to throb, but he pushes through.

A flash of blue catches Moonshine’s eye as he dodges Tequila’s fist. He gets the man with the elbow in his side. It buys him time to look out the window of the gym. A man in a black Stetson hat, smooth olive skin, a dark mustache in a blue jean jacket struts past the windows. Moonshine has no idea who he is but he feels like he can’t rest until he does.

He’s suddenly staring up at the ceiling. When did that happen? Tequila comes into view above him, holding out a hand to help him up. 

“Man, you can’t let yourself get distracted. Get up.” Tequila pulls him to his feet. Moonshine shakes himself and gets back into a fighting stance again.

“So which one was it, huh? Ginger or Whiskey?” Tequila asks as he jabs at Moonshine’s face.

“Is that his name? Whiskey?” Moonshine sidesteps quickly, throwing a punch to his opponent's ribs. Tequila comes back with an elbow to his jaw, making him stumble back.

“How about for every training exercise you pass I tell you something about him.”

“Deal.”


	5. Chapter 5

Moonshine lays on the ground of the boxing ring, this time not because he was knocked onto his ass. Training with Tequila went better than he expected. Those years of being a scrappy fighter in school to beat up bullies paid off. He lays here to catch his breath, to let his shoulder rest before hitting the showers. Mostly to think about _Whiskey._ Who, according to Tequila, is only a handful of years younger than him. _  
_

“Same time tomorrow, Moonshine!” Tequila nudges him with his foot. Moonshine groans. 

⎯

The next day Moonshine found himself on the upper level of the gym on the running track. Tequila was ready and waiting with an old school stopwatch in hand and a grin on his face. 

“Ready to run?” 

“I _played_ baseball, I can run.” Moonshine lets anger seep into his voice. He’s grateful for where he’s ended up compared to where he could have. But it still stings. 

“Good, I wanna see how fast you can run this entire track and we’ll go from there.” 

“That’ll be nothing.” Moonshine raises a brow at him. 

“Oh, just you wait.” The smile Tequila gives him makes him very nervous. 

The two move to the starting line. Moonshine stretches his legs and gives the other man a nod letting him know he’s ready. Tequila counts down from three and Moonshine starts running. His feet pound against the suspended track staying with the lines painted on the ground. He skids to a stop at the end just as Tequila hits the stop. The man looks at the time and nods.

“15 minutes, not too bad. You can do better, again.” 

Tequila makes him run, and run until he can run the distance in under double digits. They break for lunch, before going in for round two. Tequila hits a button on the wall. Moonshine watches as the track shifts and moves making room for obstacles. 

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Moonshine throws his hands in the air, turning in a circle. 

“Come on, Moonshine, you’ve got this. I’ll sweeten the deal. Two facts about Whiskey if you make it through this.” 

Moonshine gives Tequila that could curdle milk. Tequila just smiles back, clearly happy with himself.

“God damn you. Fine.” He moves to get back into the starting position. He stretches his tiring leg muscles again. 

“Ready...set...go!” 

Moonshine runs harder, and faster. He hits the first obstacle with ease, running through tires. The second has him running up an incline before making him slide down the other side. He takes off running again. He rounds the corner and notices the track before him ends. A piece of rope hangs down from the ceiling. As he gets closer he will himself to go faster.

He pushes off from the edge and reaches for the rope. His hand grips it tight and uses the momentum to swing himself across the gap. He lets go when he sees his entire body clear the gap. He tucks and rolls himself on his good shoulder. He stands there shocked that he springs up on both feet. 

“Holy shit. Holy shit.” He looks at Tequila with wide eyes. The man pats him on the back.

⎯

Moonshine makes his way to the locker rooms below to get cleaned up. His mind wanders to Whiskey. It feels a little pathetic the way his mind keeps replaying the way Whiskey had strut past the window. The shape of his aquiline nose, the square cut of his jawline, and his prominent chin. 

He pulls the curtain closed on the shower stall behind him. He lets cold water wash over him for a moment to cool himself off. His hands push back his hair under the spray of water as he fails to not think about Whiskey again. Who likes the color blue and uses a fuckin lasso. As soon as Tequila let that information slip past his lip Moonshine knew that would be the only thing he’ll be thinking about for a while.

He takes a step back to turn the temperature up enough to be warm. Using the shampoo and conditioner dispenser in the shower he washes his hair. 

He turns the shower knob and he reaches up to grab the towel he draped across the curtain rod. He makes quick work of drying off wrapping the towel around his waist before stepping out into the locker room. He stands there in silence for a moment before shouting, “FUCK!” 

He forgot to bring a change of clothes. He’s not about to put on his sweat-drenched clothes. The clock in the locker room says it’s 7:45 p.m. maybe no one will be around to catch him sneaking around in a towel. He walks from the locker room to peek his head around the corner into the gym. No movement or sound. He runs for the door with one hand on his towel. 

He speed-walks down the hall to b-line right for the elevator. He presses the button for the main floor repeatedly trying to make the door close faster. The door closes and he breathes a sigh of relief. He slumps against the wall as it moves. This had to be the stupidest thing he’s done. It makes him laugh. Until the elevator stops.

The doors open just three floors shy of his stop. Whiskey stands before him, a white shirt and a leather jacket. The stetson he wore was gone. His soft brown waves were lightly styled. Tight dark jeans clung to his legs. The two of them stare at each other for a moment before Whiskey gets on the elevator with him. Moonshine moves over to give him space as the door closes. 

Neither of them speaks for a moment.

“So, a pretty young thing like you come here often?” Moonshine asks, winking at him through their reflection in the metal doors. Whiskey snorts a laugh through his nose.

“Has that line ever gotten you laid?”

“Depends on what your answer is, don’t it?”

“Maybe next time, cowboy.”

The elevator pings and the doors open to the main floor. Whiskey steps out first, then Moonshine right behind him. The two start to head their separate ways until Moonshine turns back around.

“Sweet dreams, Whiskey.” 

The other man turns around and gives him a soft smile.

“Goodnight, Moonshine.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on twitter, tumblr, and pillowfort @hexedmaiden
> 
> Dedicated to the DinCobb Discord and especially Dutch who came up with AU ❤️


End file.
